Pharmaceutical compounds are subject to extensive testing before approval for general use. Early stages of this testing (pre-clinical) require demonstrating that a proposed compound is safe to administer to humans. To so demonstrate, prior to any human administration, a proposed compound is administered to animals with physiological responses similar to humans. During such animal testing, physiological and biological systems of a test animal must be monitored to detect any adverse effects that might occur. It is preferred that physiological monitoring not entail invasive procedures and that during monitoring test animals are unrestrained.
Specifically, because of their similarity to humans, primates, especially monkeys, are preferred pre-clinical testing animals. However, accurately monitoring respiratory volumes of monkeys has required physically immobilizing the monkeys and placing a face mask over their faces. Monitoring unrestrained monkeys has been possible, but only by surgically implanting into the monkey a monitoring device sensitive to intra-pleural pressure. Data returned from such an implanted device is responsive to respiratory rate, but contains virtually no information on respiratory volumes. Further, the associated surgical procedure is unpleasant at best and often painful for the monkeys, adds to monitoring expense, requires healing after surgery that delays monitoring procedures, and causes an inevitable risk of infection. And once implanted, the device is susceptible to failure and in some cases self-extraction by the monkey.
Additionally, other fields can benefit from facilities for non-invasive physiological monitoring of unrestrained animals that are currently not readily available. For example, veterinary practice, both medical and surgical, would benefit from readily available physiological monitoring of unrestrained animals. Such monitoring would also enable more precise and accurate animal evaluation and training. Such monitoring can also be beneficial to ecological or behavioral studies of free ranging animals.
For these and for other reasons, the arts are in need of non-invasive physiological testing systems that provide respiratory and other physiological data from restrained and/or unrestrained monkeys and/or other test animals.
A number of references are cited herein, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference for all purposes. Further, none of these references, regardless of how characterized above, is admitted as prior to the invention of the subject matter claimed herein.